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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27540220">Returning to the Pies</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/fazcinatingreads/pseuds/fazcinatingreads'>fazcinatingreads</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>AFL - Fandom, Football - Fandom, Sports - Fandom, aussie rules, collingwood - Fandom, locker room - Fandom</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Gen</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 16:46:57</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>484</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27540220</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/fazcinatingreads/pseuds/fazcinatingreads</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Alex Fasolo comes out of retirement to help Collingwood with their goalkicking issues.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Returning to the Pies</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was the first day of preseason and Alex Fasolo was exhausted just walking from the car park into the club. "New year, new me," he muttered as he slouched against the wall near the entrance and lit up a cigarette. He took a long drag and wondered what exactly he was doing back here. How did Bucks convince him to come back and play? Did he really need this?</p><p>"Smoking kills, Faz!" Steele Sidebottom yelled, tauntingly, as he breezed past on a scooter and rode into the club.</p><p>"It's clove flavoured!" Alex yelled back.</p><p>Just as Alex was finishing his cigarette, throwing it on the ground and extinguishing it with his foot, Bucks came along. "Hey Alex," he said, chirpily.</p><p>"Look, I can kick 25 goals a season but I won't do any of those time trial things or hill sprints," Alex said, up front.</p><p>Bucks blinked in surprise.</p><p>Alex rushed on. "And sure, I can kick goals, but I'm not doing any chasing and definitely no tackling. I might bust a hip," he said, shrugging.</p><p>"That's fine," Bucks said, "We regret getting rid of you. We need a goalkicker."</p><p>"Thank you," Alex said.</p><p>They headed into the club together and Alex went straight to the locker room. He opened up the door of the number 1 locker and hung up the photo of him and Jeremy Howe that Jeremy had kindly signed with an inspiring message. There were boxes of Weetbix still in the locker which Alex was grateful for, just in case he got hungry after training and couldn't wait for lunch.</p><p>Then he squinted and saw that there was underwear at the back of the locker. Wait. Is that where his black caviar-inspired budgy smugglers were all this time? He reached in to grab them and they were snagged on something. He pulled the entire cardboard piece out and untangled the underwear. </p><p>Alex looked closely at the cardboard piece. it was a cutout. </p><p>A cutout of.... </p><p>Oh shit.</p><p>Not her.</p><p>Alex tossed the cutout to the ground, just as a little girl came into the room and squealed, "Don't make a mess!!!" Alex stared in her direction and saw Jordan Roughead holding the girl's hand.</p><p>"I couldn't get her into daycare today," Jordan said, sheepishly, "So I brought her here."</p><p>Alex continued to watch as Jordan led the girl to his own locker where she proceeded to scold Josh Thomas on the messy state of his locker. Alex chuckled.</p><p>He sat on the bench holding his fresh-smelling budgy smugglers and watched the players in the locker room. Some old faces, some very new and shiny faces. A boy dancing and jumping around near Crocker's old locker. Darcy Moore combing Brodie Grundy's hair and untangling the knots. Chris Mayne staring at his reflection in a mirror and complaining about his curls.</p><p>Alex sighed happily. He was so glad to be back.</p>
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